Improvement in quartz-pulverizers



2 Sheets-#Sheet 2. R. H. COLLY'ER.

i ore Mm. No. 10,388. Patented-1an. s, 1854.

Witnesses: lnventon,

vAM. PHOTO-LITHD.CO.N.Y. (OSBURNES PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT' I-I. lCoLLrEI-t, or SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

INI PROVIVI ENT IN QUARTZ-PU LVVERIZERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 10,388, dated January3, 1854.

ToctZZ whom t may concern; y

Be it known that I, ROBERT H. COLLYER, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, State of California, have invented a new and useful machinefor crushing and triturating gold-quartz rock or other ores andseparating the gold, silver, or other metals they may contain byamalgamation or Otherwise, to be known as Collyers California Quartz-Crusher/Iriturator, and Gold-Extractor; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation of the same, reference being had tothe annexed drawings,and to lettersof reference marked thereon, the same lettersreferring tothe same parts, making part of this specification, in which- Plate I isa perspective view; Plate II, Fig. 1,a sectional side elevation; Fig.2,p1an. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through line a a., Figs. l and 2;Fig. 4, a transverse section through line b b, Figs. land 2; Fig. 5,atransverse section through line' d d, Figs. l and 2.

The nature of this my invention consists in the undulating, vibratory,oscillating, and eccentric motion produced by the cylindrical cast-ironrollers A A', working on the concave bed-plates (east-iron) B B',actuated by the connecting-rods() C', attached to the levers or arms DD', fixed in the said rollers,whereby a perfect crushing, grinding, andtriturating action is produced upon the quartz or other ore submitted toits Operation.

E E E represent the various positions in which the arms or levers may beplaced, thereby presenting a fresh surface of the roller to the crushingand rubbing action when any one portion is sufficiently worn away.

F F represent the side or cheek pieces of the machine, which carry orsupport the bedplates B B and conne the motion of the cylindricalrollers A A in a direct line.

Gr G are screens of various degrees of tineness.

His a body of quicksilver. The concave bed-plate B may be made and usedwithout the mercury-chamber II.

I I I are pipes, into which steam or hot Water is admitted in order toheat the mercury and render it more sensitive.

A hole is provided in the cheek-piece, as

shown by the circle at the end of the mercury-chamber II, by which themercury or ings, Plat-e II, Figs. l, 2, and 5.) On the revolution ofthese rollers, each one being partially immersed in mercury contained inthe concave apartments, all the crushed ore is carried through themercury.

N N N are rifiies where mercury is placed, over which all the refuse ortailings have to pass before leaving the machine.

O' O O are apertures to draw off the inereury or amalgam at pleasure.

M is a steam-chamber for heating the mercury contained in the concaveapartments.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its operation.

A quantity of quartz-rook or other ore is continually thrown into themain crushingchamber at X, and by a suitable arrangement a consta-ntsupply of the necessary quantity is admitted, a stream of waterbeingconstantly admitted into `the machine from the water-pipes P I. (Shownin drawings, Plate Il, Fig. l.) Motion is then given from thedriving-power through the connectingrod C to the roller A, and at thesame time continued to the smaller roller A by the connecting-rods C'C'. Thus a constant vibratory, undulating, partial rolling, sliding, and

rubbing action is kept up, which reduces the ore into fine particles,and the machine havy ing an inclination in one direction, the pulverizedore, being held in suspension by the agitated water, is passed throughthe coarse screen G into the smaller concave bed-plate B', where itundergoes a more perfect and finer pulverization and trituration. Theaction of the second roller A' corresponds iu effect with the largerone. The coarse and tine particles of gold are here scouredrhe formercaught in the mercury-chamber H. rlhe ore, being now iinely reduced, iscarried with the current of water through the fine screen G' into theamalgamator proper. Here all the reduced ore in a thin layer or iiake isforced through the heated mercury by the slow movement of the toothed orfluted rollers K K K. The finest and most minute particles of gold arehere amalgamated. It any particles should have escaped the action of thetoothed rollers, they will be caught in the rifiies N N N. (The largecylindrical rollers being hollow, by placing mercury on their interior agood amalgamating action could be effected.)

All auriferous ores are accompanied by iron, copper, manganese, lead, orsome other metal in the form of sulphurets, arsenurets, oxides, or withmica and talc. These compounds are what the Spanish miners callmalatella. This is the great source of annoyance and diiiicultyexperienced in the extraction of gold and silver from their ores, moreparticularly by the mercurial process-g e'. e., amalgamation. It isbecause the gold particles are coated with the oxide of iron, sulphuretof iron, or some other malatella, which causes them to resist theattraction for the mercury, which otherwise would exist were theirsurface-z'. e., gold particlesbright and free from any extraneouscoating. Another serious difficulty exists in the talcomicaceous slateand iron, forming a greasy, oily, unctuous substance which floats on thesurface of the mercury. Should the mercury be broken up into minuteglobules, each one of these will be coated with this substance, therebypreventing any affinity for the fine particles of gold, the goldparticles being mostly disseminated throughout the ore. Moreparticularly is this the case in the sulphurets, arsenurets, andespecially in the ferruginous ocherous decomposed quartz, which is sorich on analysis, yet with the shaking tables, whirling pans, rotatingtubs, an( revolving basins and balls yields hardly any gold. The failureof all these contrivances to recover the gold in practice arises fromtheir not fulfilling the chemico1nechan ical conditions soimperatively.requisite to success in gold-mining-namely, trituration andfriction of the gold particles so as to remove the malatella andpreserve the mercuryin bulk. The consequence of the ignorance ornon-observance of these conditions is that at the gold mines ofVirginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and California, on Washingthe tailings or refuse sand a large quantity of amalgam, mercury, andcoated gold may be recovered.

The objects to be attained for the perfect extraction of gold from itsore or matrix are, first, to reduce the ore to an impalpable powder,(the finer it is made the larger will be the quantity of gold extractedsecond, tritu` rating or scouring of the auriferous particles, so as toremove the extraneous covering and produce a bright surface, soindispensable to successful amalgamation; third, it is absolutelynecessary that the mercury should be kept in bulk and that thepulverized ore should be thoroughly incorporated with it and in suchquantities that every particle of gold will be mercurialized; fourth,heating the mercury, so that it is rendered sensitive and quickened,presenting a large surface for amalgamation. Forcing too much ore intothe mercury at one time will be attended with great loss of gold. Allthese conditions are accomplished by the armed rollers and thisparticular amalgamating process.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

The arrangement of the cylinder, curved basin, vibrating arm,connecting-rod, and power-Wheel attached to it, by which arrangement thecylinder is operated as a pulverizer and triturator Without a fixedshaft, as herein set forth.

ROBT. Hg. COLLYER. Vitnesses:

I. B. IIALsEY, RoBT. U. COLLYER.

